Caleb's Prank
by maxandkiz
Summary: Caleb tries to out prank John with disastrous results.  Dean-8, Sammy-4   Reposted!


Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.

AN- Thought it might be safe to re-post this now.

SPN

Pastor Jim peered through the screen door searching the yard for a two young men. Spotting his quarry he yanked open the screen and shouted, "Caleb, I need a word with you." Jim watched as Caleb and Dean raced across the lawn and bounded up the steps of the porch.

"What's wrong, Jim? Sammy try to give the cat a bath again?" Caleb inquired as he sat in the nearest rocking chair.

"No, and don't go giving Dean any ideas." Jim shot back. "I need your help. You see, I promised Sammy that he could go to story time at the book store this afternoon. But I'm afraid I have to straighten out my back yard since a certain boy told his little brother that there was a treasure chest buried there somewhere." Pastor Jim paused glaring at Dean who was attempting to hide his amusement. "Now I need you to take him to story time while I sort out the mess "Hurricane Sammy" left behind."

"Ah man." Caleb groaned. "Can't Dean do it? Sammy's his brother."

"Sorry son. Dean's going to be filling in all the holes his brother dug searching for the nonexistent treasure." Pastor Jim replied smirking at the horrified expression that crossed Dean's face. "Consider it your punishment for talking Sammy into destroying the yard. I really need to have a chat with your father and Bobby. These prank wars are getting out of hand." He added as he headed back into the house with Caleb hot on his heels protesting. Grabbing his wallet Jim turned to Caleb. "That's quite enough young man. You helped start the prank war and I'm ending it. Now you are going to take Sammy to story time and that's the end of it." Handing Caleb some money he added, "A children's author is reading her new book today. If Sammy likes it, you can buy it for him. Take him to the diner for lunch when you're through. And I expect you to be on your best behavior."

"Fine" Caleb growled out snatching the money and stuffing it in his pocket. Seeing his "date" for the afternoon sitting on the stairs he smiled and called, "C'mon runt. Let's get outta here! Have fun playing in the dirt, Dean."

Dean stood at the door until Caleb and Sammy disappeared from sight. Hearing Jim calling Dean turned and trudged through the house and out the back door. Surveying the yard he was surprised at the amount of destruction his little brother had caused. It was going to take a long time to fix this mess. Taking a shovel from Pastor Jim Dean decided to make things right. "Sorry, Pastor Jim. I just wanted some time to hang with Caleb without Sammy bugging us. I didn't think he'd do all this. I figured Sammy would dig a couple of shallow holes before he got bored and went to play something else. Guess I should have known he wouldn't give up that easily."

"Apology accepted, Dean." Pastor Jim said as he started filling in the first of many holes. "Just do me a favor. Next time you want some time away from Sam, come tell me. I'll find him something a little more constructive to do."

"Thanks." Dean said dumping another load of dirt.

Caleb half listened as Sammy prattled on and on about nothing in particular. He felt like he'd been walking for hours when he finally caught sight of their destination. Caleb had never been so happy to see a store in his life. Ushering Sammy into the store they quickly headed to the children's section where a crowd was already gathering. After placing Sammy on the floor with the other children, Caleb walked over and stood as far away from the group as he could making sure he could still see his small charge. He wasn't about to risk John Winchester's wrath. _"This is all his fault."_ Caleb thought as he leaned against a shelf. _"John's the one who started the war with his monster in the toilet prank. Still can't believe I fell for that one!" _Caleb's eyes were pulled to shelf upon shelf of books on every subject imaginable. _"Hmm, wonder if they have any books on pranks." _He walked toward a salesperson to find out.

Sammy listened in awe as the author read her latest book. He yelled the rhyming words and laughed at the character's antics along with all the other children. When she finished reading, she asked questions about favorite parts of the story and answered the kids' questions. At the end she gave each child a goody bag filled with candy, a pencil, a coloring book, and a small paint set. Sammy dashed over to Caleb with his treat. "Caleb! Caleb! Look what I got!" he shouted.

Smiling down at his enthusiastic friend Caleb glanced into the bag. "Cool, runt. You're gonna share the candy aren't you?" At Sammy's nod he continued, "Thanks. Let's get that book for you and then we'll go eat. Pastor Jim gave us money to go to the diner. I'll even let you get an ice cream."

Sammy's eyes lit up at Caleb's words. "Really? I can have the book and ice cream?" he asked.

"Sure kid. Now go get that book. I'm starving." Caleb replied laughing as Sammy flew over to the author's table to pick up a copy of the book "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More". _"It's the perfect plan." _Caleb thought. _"John gets paid back and Jim will never send me to the book store with Sammy again. I can't lose." _Caleb watched as Sammy slowly walked back to him nose stuck in his new book. He took Sammy's hand and led him to the checkout to pay for the book before heading out to the diner across the street.

Dean fell back on the couch with a sigh. It had taken over an hour to get the backyard looking presentable again and he was exhausted. He was never telling Sammy about treasure or letting him near a shovel again. He was just glad that Pastor Jim had agreed not to tell his dad what had happened. He didn't want to know what his punishment would be if his dad found out. Thoughts of his dad's punishments disappeared when he heard his little brother's voice coming from the porch.

"Why can't I paint when we get inside Caleb? I've been good." Sammy whined giving Caleb his puppy dog eyes.

"I told you already, Sammy. You need to save them for tonight when your daddy gets home. When we hear the impala coming down the driveway, then you can go to your room and do like the little boy in the book did." Caleb informed him.

Sammy looked up at his friend like he'd lost his mind. "I can't do that! Daddy'll be mad." He gasped.

Feeling his plan falling apart Caleb quickly came up with a story. "No he won't Sammy. He will love it! Promise." He fibbed.

Sammy thought for a moment studying Caleb's face for any sign of teasing. Finding none he grinned and said, "O.K. Caleb. I'll do it."

"I can't wait to see John's face." Caleb said to himself as he held the front door open for Sammy. Following the boy inside he schooled his expression and walked toward the kitchen excited by the prospect of one upping the great John Winchester.

John pulled into Pastor Jim's around suppertime. The hunt had been exceptionally easy putting him in a good mood. His good mood became a great one when the house came into view. "Hmm, the house is still standing and there's no yelling or crying. The boys must have gone easy on Jim this time." John told himself. He parked the impala right in front of the porch, climbed out, and walked up the steps and into the house. Standing in the doorway he waited for his youngest to come barreling around the corner to tackle him. When that didn't happen, he hollered out, "Jim! Boys! I'm back!" Hearing Jim's answering yell from the kitchen John walked that way wondering just what his boys had managed to get into this time. Stepping into the kitchen he saw Dean and Caleb sitting at the table with Jim but Sammy was no where to be seen. "Jim, is something wrong? Where's Sammy?" he questioned.

Jim motioned for his friend to take a seat. "Everything's fine, John. Sammy went to his room when he heard you coming. He said he had a surprise for you. He told me to tell you that he'll call you when he's ready."

"Dean, you know anything about this surprise?" John quizzed.

"No sir. He's been talking about surprising you all day but he wouldn't say how." Dean answered in between mouthfuls.

"Daddy! Come see!" Sammy hollered from the bedroom.

Taking a calming breath John slowly got up and headed toward the back bedroom. "Guess I better go." He told the others.

Pastor Jim and Dean exchanged worried looks. They knew what kind of surprises to expect from Sammy. Hearing a chuckle they both turned to stare at Caleb who was grinning from ear to ear. All three leaped up and raced toward the bedroom as John's booming voice carried over the whole house. "SAMMY! What the hell!

John stood staring dumbfounded at his baby boy covered head to toe in paint. Seeing the paint set dripping all over the carpet mad dad made an appearance. "SAMMY! What the hell!" he shouted at his multicolored son.

Sammy smiled up at his daddy not noticing the dark expression his father wore. "Look, daddy! I decorated myself just like the boy in the book. Do you like it?" he squealed doing a 360 so his daddy could see all his artwork.

Placing his hands on his hips John growled out, "NO I don't. Samuel Winchester what were you thinking!"

Sammy froze at his daddy's words. Tear filled eyes stared up at mad dad. "You're mad at me? But Caleb said you'd like it if I painted myself." He whispered as the tears started to fall. "I'm sorry daddy. Please don't spank me."

John ran a hand through his hair. Caleb. He should have known.

Gazing down at his youngest John didn't have the heart to punish the kid. He had a feeling washing all that paint off in the tub would be punishment enough for Sammy and whoever had the job of helping him. _"Speaking of which"_ John thought as he watched the others screech to a halt right outside the door.

Pastor Jim and Dean stood gawking at the paint covered Winchester. Their first reaction was to laugh but seeing the miserable look on Sammy's face stopped them cold. Glancing sympathetically at the youngest Winchester they waited for the explosion they knew was coming. But John surprised them both.

Pinning Caleb with a glare John said, "I expected better from you, Caleb. The pranks are between us. My boys are off limits. I thought you were old enough to understand that. Guess I was wrong." Kneeling down in front of Sammy John switched to his softer daddy voice, "Its o.k. Sammy. Daddy's not mad at you. Let's go get you cleaned up and then you can tell me what you've been doing while I was gone, alright?" At his baby's slight nod, John scooped his messy son up and walked to the bathroom avoiding Caleb altogether.

Dean followed his family out the door glaring at his friend on the way. He couldn't believe Caleb had done that to Sammy. Sammy could have gotten in trouble for that stunt. Dean decided that he was going to have to have a long talk with Caleb later. Right now his dad needed his help.

One incredibly long bath and a talk later the two youngest Winchesters sat against the headboard of the bed and listened while their daddy read them Sammy's newest book. Sitting between the two boys John had his arms wrapped around his sons as he read the story and laughed right along with them. Afterwards he just sat holding onto his baby boys as they fell asleep. He watched them sleep for a long time before carefully slipping out of the bed and creeping out of the room.

John came into the kitchen not surprised to see Pastor Jim and Caleb sitting at the table waiting for him. Raising his hand to stop Jim from speaking, John sat down and focused his gaze on Caleb.

Caleb felt horrible. He'd thought it was a funny prank until he'd seen Sammy's crestfallen face and John's thunderous expression. Cringing at the stare he knew was coming his way he kept his eyes locked on the table top and started his apology. "I'm sorry, John. I guess I didn't think that prank through very well. I never thought you'd get mad at Sammy."

"I know you didn't Caleb. But that's the problem. You didn't think. What if we'd been on a hunt? Someone could have been hurt or even killed. You have to think things through no matter what the situation." John lectured. Seeing Caleb's regret John decided to let the boy off the hook. After all John had started the war. "Caleb, I'm sorry, too. I overreacted to the situation. Forget what I said earlier. Okay?"

Caleb looked up at John and grinned. "Okay. Thanks man. I promise I've learned my lesson. I never want to see that look on Sammy's face again." He said as he got up and walked to the door.

"Caleb" John called. "One more thing. The bathroom's a mess from all that paint. You made the mess, so you get to clean it up before you go to bed." John and Pastor Jim chuckled at the look of disbelief on Caleb's face.

"Make sure you scrub the tub out good." Pastor Jim added between giggles as he headed out of the kitchen himself.

The rest of the Winchester's stay was blessedly uneventful. They left the Pastor's home a few days later all hard feelings forgotten.

AN- The book in the story was "I Ain't Gonna Paint No More" by Karen Beaumont. The kids love it! Check it out if you get a chance.


End file.
